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8 blogs found
Carve up from Cape Town along the storied Route 62 and watch as the landscape stacks ever skyward, the mountains scaling up as the road whips through. These ancient monoliths are some of the highest in the Western Cape and inform the viticulture here. The soils crumble down, Table Mountain sandstone, granite, Bokkeveld shale. They command the weather too, casting rain shadows, directing cloud formation. The rocky curves twist and fold along the river creating pockets, valleys and kloofs, little oases for vineyards in this otherwise dry, desert region.
Fryer's Cove,
February 2024
Many of the Cape’s vineyards claim to be ‘within sight of the sea’; few lie as close to the sea’s edge as those of Fryer’s Cove, a mere 500 metres from the Atlantic Ocean in the West Coast’s Doring Bay.
Hey wine enthusiasts, gather around because it's time to celebrate a special occasion - South Africa's Wine Birthday! That's right, this vibrant nation has been producing delicious wines for centuries, and what better way to honour this tradition than by raising a glass (or two) in celebration? If you're looking to indulge in some exceptional wine experiences, the picturesque West Coast of Cape Town is where you need to be!
Look both ways,
February 2024
Look right, look left – and look right again. That was always the advice drilled into children before crossing the road.
“Terroir exists in the skins and the stalks,” asserts Dan Colombo when asked about terroir versus technique when it comes to skin-contact, oxidative wines. This is the first time the young winemaker (just over the edge of 30), is showing his full line-up of wines in one sitting. The eponymous range are all minimalist, texture-driven, skin-contact wines. Colombo says he keeps the sense of site intact by extracting whole bunches ‘very lightly’.
The beauty of the winelands delights all who visit the Cape; it’s a beauty distinctive to each area, making it unnecessarily difficult to pick a favourite.
The Western Cape of South Africa is known for its beautiful scenery, warm weather, and of course, delicious wine. The wine industry in the Western Cape dates back to the 17th century when the Dutch East India Company established a refreshment station at the Cape. They quickly realized the potential for wine production due to the Mediterranean-like climate and rich soils.
Harvest 2024,
January 2024
The festive season for South African sparkling wine producers is usually shorter than some of their still wine making compatriots. While some winemakers are still standing ankle-deep in beach sand with a fishing rod in hand, enjoying well-deserved time off, others have to pack up the bikes and boogie boards to get back to the winery. That’s because the grapes destined for Cap Classique need to be picked earlier than Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay or Merlot. The first week in January is when the first bunches are snipped from the vines – and already social media has reflected photos of the first truck loads of grapes making it to the winery.